A Year in the Dessert

Isn't it amazing how the more time you have the less you get done some times. Kind of like how the people who live closest to an event will usually show up late. It would seem like if ever there was a time for me to keep up this daily practice, it would be now, but I'm just forgetting.

There's one comparison I've wanted to make for this COVID-19 isolation for a long time, which is to the year I spent in Korea. There are differences, of course, but especially for the first four months of my time there I knew very few people with whom I could interact comfortably face-to-face. I spent a lot of time alone, or only chatting with friends on video chat. Of course my job was massively different and involved interacting with kids everyday, but it was common enough to spend an entire weekend in my apartment... as many people are forced to do these days.

It was not a fun time. There were periods of depression and frustration. And I'm worried about how many others will be feeling this way right now. There are some caveats, though. I think the fact that everyone is going through this at the same time will create some amount of social solidarity and at least allow you to have your friends free on Skype at the same time.

The significant silver lining on the experience was the amount of personal rediscovery it allowed. That doesn't mean it was "worth it", necessarily, although the last eight months were significantly more enjoyable than the first four. But I was able to explore aspects of knowledge and of myself that I'm not normally able to focus on. I read a book a week for a long period of time, discovered a variety of podcasts that have reoriented my life in some ways, and was able to spend some quality "me time" I suppose. Hopefully others can get to this point and benefit from it. Although I had the purpose of a steady job and a steady paycheck, which I'm sure helps to feel grounded.

Either way, I think this isolation will be totally different, mostly because I'm stuck here with somebody (who I like). I just realized I should get back to my goal of one physical book per week, though. What a good plan.